Happy summer solstice!

Does anyone else celebrate these things?

Here in Alaska it's a big deal for some. Friends of mine put on an all-night party with bonfires, improvisational drumming (on drums made from hollow cottonwood logs with moosehide stretched over the top) and, of course lots of food and drink. If you spill some of your drink you just call it a libation to Frigg or Woden and carry on--I guess we're a fairly heathen lot.

On my last visit to San Diego during a solstice I was surprised to learn that no one I met knew of any celebration. But it made sense--they have a lot of sunlight already.

It's different here. We put black plastic over bedroom windows so we can get some sleep while the kids play out in the street at midnight. But we know it will soon be gone...

Personally, I like the dark of winter. My wife doesn't. She always thinks about moving south to "America" by April. In June she doesn't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else.